Speaking on the after-show Talking Dead, Andrew said: “It’s not the beginning of the end, it’s the end of the beginning. And I like the idea that we get to tell a bigger story, maybe with a sort of wider vista.

“I’ve always been interested in what’s going on out there, you know, whether or not there is contact with the wider world. I want to know the meta of it all.

“And I suppose to be able to kind of touch upon that in a contained story for me is a very exciting proposition… maybe it’s the start of a bigger story.”

The films will be written by The Walking Dead producer Scott Gimple.

He said: “There were story ideas brewing that, as the years went on, seemed very compatible with continuing to tell the Rick story in another format that would allow him time with his family.”

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